Mol_PMB

Trackplan suggestion: would it be possible for the middle road of the fiddle yard to be connected to both up and down lines? That would give more operational flexibility. For example, if there were two consecutive northbound services operated by a class 156, then the same model unit could operate both.

Agreed, the brown is not an authentic historic livery unless you’re modelling the 2020s. Note that in reality Palmerston has a shorter cab than all the other small Englands - hence the lack of lining on the rear panel. It was shortened over 100 years ago to allow it round sharper curves in some yards. I’m surprised at the absence of an FR green (or bluish) livery model on the large Englands.

Thanks Paul, that's a good idea. I had considered a perspex box but discounted it owing to the reflections, but your idea of making it narrower and hiding it in the shadows is a good one. I'll see what the costs for the metal version come out like...

I've been away for a week, so not much progress on the trainset recently. Today I've done a bit more scenic work with ground cover, static grass, trees etc., and will post more photos of that in due course. In the meantime thoughts have turned to the big viaduct, and I've had discussions with several friends about the best way to do this. As a reminder, here's a photo of the real thing (an early 1980s slide by Peter Nothdurft, that I recently acquired on ebay): The real thing had three spans but I only have room for one, and even then it's 3'6" long. Because it spans a walkway, it needs to be strong enough to come off best in a collision with an errant human head. After much consideration, I've decided that the best approach is to have the top, bottom, 2 sides and 13 cross-pieces laser-cut from 1.5mm stainless steel and then TIG weld them together using a tab and slot arrangement to keep everything in line and allow all the welds to be done from the outside. I've attached a pdf of my draft drawing of that basic structure. Hopefully one of my friends with TIG welding expertise can be persuaded to do the fabrication. Then I can glue on non-structural cosmetic details afterwards. Does anyone have recommendations for companies that do laser-cutting in thin stainless steel? Cheers, Mol viaduct.pdf

Great photo. I like the 'N.C.S. Cheese Factory' in the background.

There’s a special place in hell reserved for those who make banana-shaped models of locos to suit the impossibly sharp curves on the railway at the base of a flying scotsman clock. Presumably these are all endorsed by the NRM (national restaurant museum)

On custom transfers, I’ve used Jim Peck of Precision Decals many times and found his service to be very swift and of good quality, whilst being cost-effective too. There is a bit of a learning curve in producing the artwork but he’s very helpful in answering questions and offering advice.

Absolutely agree with this. Opening the door can be a useful smoke control measure when stationary, coasting or shunting, but on the run when working hard the door should be opened for the minimum time required to throw in the coal. Done well on a DCC model, it would be synchronised with the noise of shovelling and the clang of the firebox door, but I've never seen a model that achieves that!

Note that in the first batch sent to the ER (993757-766), only Stratford and Sheffield got more than one Shark. By the time they had all been delivered, the four GE depots had 4 Sharks each. I'm not going to copy out the whole table - you can beg, borrow or steal the book from somewhere. But for @'CHARD 's benefit, you should consider: EDINBURGH, BALLAST SIDINGS, PORTOBELLO: 993775, 776 Others were allocated to Rutherglen, Cowlairs, Perth, Irvine, Inverness, Carstairs, Forfar, Aberdeen.

GE area labelling applied when new included: STRATFORD: 993759, 760, 788 IPSWICH: 993762, 789 NORWICH: 993763, 790 CAMBRIDGE: 993766, 791 DISTRICT ENGINEER, STRATFORD, ER: 993908 DISTRICT ENGINEER, CAMBRIDGE, ER: 993832, 993910 DISTRICT ENGINEER, IPSWICH, ER: 993833, 993909 DISTRICT ENGINEER, NORWICH, ER: 993834, 993911 Some moved around later, and some examples of later labelling are also given in the book.

You would be out of luck in Ireland as they were all re-engined decades ago, and the survivors rarely get the chance to stretch their legs anyway. Western Australia may be a better option as several X and Xa class still exist with their original engines. One of my favourite memories is driving the preserved Xa1401 on a main line railtour over 20 years ago - I think it is still operational.

I tend to agree. Although quality accommodation in North Wales can be hard to find and Llandudno does have a reasonable concentration of it. Llandudno also does get a little cruise ship traffic, though not as popular as Douglas (for a relevant and nearby comparison). This is Llandudno, but the Waverley once or twice a year doesn't make a business case!

Blaenau has developed a lot in recent years, and there are many nearby top-class tourist attractions in the 'adventure' theme (long zip lines over the slate quarries, underground trampolines, forest assault courses etc.) All easily accessible by car but a bit too far from the railway for public transport to be an option. A more frequent service on the Conwy Valley would be great, but I think it would need reliable connections to these attractions, and also it would need to serve Llandudno which is the major centre of tourist accommodation in the area. The FR now does run services originating in Blaenau (the 'Quarryman'). I do think a revived 'Daisy' would be popular in season to double the frequency of the existing TfW service, but I doubt a regular steam service would be viable. However, the Conwy Valley is at the mercy of the elements, despite huge amounts spent by NR in flood repairs and defences it continues to be washed out regularly. To be quite honest, an hourly bus service could be provided at a fraction of the cost of keeping the railway open and would be far superior in terms of frequency and equal for journey times.

Nearly-155s (i.e. 2x153) are a staple of the Manchester-Cardiff services in 2024! 144s were regulars on the Leeds-Heysham boat train for a while, again in more recent times. As a child I remember the 155s replacing the 33s on the Bristol-Bath axis (my gran lived in Keynsham) so they were presumably on Cardiff-Weymouth or similar.

You might like to consider cosmetic fishplates - they add a certain something. This isn't the best of photos but it gives the impression.